Food is powerful. It can bring people together on common ground, and some say there is nothing better than a good home-cooked meal. Food is cultural, and is often an integral part of socializing, but it also sustains us. George Vutetakis, a.k.a. the Vegetarian Guy, has extensive experience and knowledge about vegetarian cuisine and how plant-based diets permeate cultures. Vutetakis served as chef and owner of the award winning Inn Season Café in Royal Oak, Michigan. After selling the restaurant, he started dedicating time to teaching and writing. Chef Vutetakis took some time out with Vegan Mainstream recently to discuss the art of preparing vegetarian meals and his new book, entitled Vegetarian Traditions.
Vegan Mainstream: Tell us about your childhood and how your grandmother’s Greek heritage influenced you. Did you start cooking at an early age?
George Vutetakis: My introduction to real cooking was in my Greek Grandmother’s kitchen. Greek culture is centered around food and they use it as a tool for communication. In Greece, people are very inviting when it comes to food, which was a good foundation for me. It is a method of expressing oneself whether in the family or to a complete stranger. She lived by these principles and passed them on to me.
I started to take cooking seriously when I was about 14 or so. I was interested in Eastern philosophy and figured out that knowing how to cook was an important part of a yoga practice. I realized it was something that I needed to do.
VM: Reflecting on being the owner and chef at the Inn Season Café in Royal Oak, Michigan, what were some of the rewards and challenges of your role there?
GV: I learned to cook in India and discovered an understanding of how food comes together. After four trips there and then eight years of honing my skills in Montreal, Chicago and New York, I was hired as the original chef of Inn Season Cafe. Because one of the owners had studied at the Kushi Institute in Boston, the main emphasis was macrobiotic. Very quickly, the restaurant became a gathering place for the alternative food community. Like-minded individuals were anxious to work with us , giving me the opportunity to interact with many great cooks.
After a few years, I purchased Inn Season Café and began to put my personal stamp on it. I owned the café for 18 years—a very fulfilling experience. What we presented not only tasted good, but made one feel good—even the day after eating it. In addition, the cafe was making its mark on the community. We discovered people were driving in from all over the state and the restaurant was being recommended by alternative doctors, naturopaths, dietitians and cardiologists. There were very few restaurants one could eat at every day and be healthier for it. It was a vegetarian oasis in the Midwest and, today, it is a rare gem in the world of vegetarian establishments in America.
VM: What really set you apart from other restaurants?
Farm-to-table right from the very beginning. We worked with local organic farmers both directly and at farmers markets. We also participated in the local community whenever possible to help educate people about the benefits of plant-based cuisine.
Some of the challenges were sourcing good ingredients. The ’80s and ’90s were very different from today and we had to be pro-active to work with farmers, suppliers and small food producers to create a network of food we could trust.
We worked with charitable organizations whenever possible. My favorite charitable and educational events were with the Empty Bowls Project, conducted at a grassroots level. It gave students the chance to participate in feeding people.
VM: What advice do you have for aspiring vegan chefs or restaurant owners?
GV: It’s not just about the ingredients you use, it’s about how you deal with the ingredients–how you respect the food, respect the source of the food as well as the outcome. It is my basic foundation or credo, quality of life is determined by the quality of food.
The recipes in my book, Vegetarian Traditions, were some of the most popular during my tenure. I have found that two different people may prepare the same recipe two different ways. In my book I include stories describing historical background and the transition of the dishes; therefore, aspiring chefs and restaurateurs may find the book is a useful guide for creating successful cuisine.
Check out Vutetakis’ book Vegetarian Traditions here.
VM: What were some of the most gratifying experiences you had on your travels to India? Any surprises or similarities between our culture and theirs?
GV: In India, perspectives and values were different when it came to dealing with food—it was the social center of the culture. In India, cooking was an art form which every housewife had learned from their mothers. It was there that I first experienced A La Minute cooking where food is prepared and served with perfect timing. An example was every cook knowing how to make the perfect Roti or flatbread. The bread would puff up into a pillow shape and it was served at the precise moment that a jet of aromatic steam wafted from the top, gently deflating the Roti as it was placed on the plate ready to be eaten immediately. Every housewife had an awareness of the best way to prepare and serve the food consistent with Ayurvedic principles. I realized how important the details were and learned to cook as a form of meditation which relaxed me and all those I fed.
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VM: For some households, cultures and traditions may be mixed (e.g. maybe the mother is Middle Eastern and the father is Italian). How can parents successfully pass on their cultural dishes and traditions to their children?
GV: Mediterranean is easy, because of the long traditions of plant-based foods in Mediterranean cuisine. The problem we have with tradition is that what we tend to pass down and remember are the foods people would save for special occasions and entertaining — usually fat laden and containing meat. Over history, many cultures only kill animals for holidays and special events and eat meat on Easter, baptisms or religious holidays. We remember our traditions from those special occasions. The daily sustenance was not necessarily the same and was primarily plant-based.
In the Middle East and Italy, as in Greece, there were long-standing traditions of wild-harvesting as well as a significant amount of primarily plant-based dishes. Discovering these dishes can be compared to discovering long-lost family heirlooms, adding excitement to a home kitchen. Food with a story adds romance to a meal and one does not need to give up their heritage to be vegan.
VM: You write regularly on your blog TheVegetarianGuy.com — how has social media allowed you to cultivate your culinary teaching passions further?
GV: Social media exploded in the last few years, allowing people to relate to each other in ways that email couldn’t. There is a lot more expression and we have the ability to express more personality. Through Facebook, Twitter, Squidoo, YouTube and other applications, there’s a new way of creating community. These are great tools for sharing information with like-minded individuals.
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